OVER THE RAINBOW
Director Alexandre O. Philippe is the man behind the curtain of a new David Lynch doc.
Fans have long speculated about the links between The Wizard Of Oz and the filmography of David Lynch. The surrealist’s body of work is full of dream states, characters with shifting identities and – in Wild At Heart – direct references to Victor Fleming’s 1939 masterpiece. Director Alexandre O. Philippe explores these connections in his new documentary, Lynch/Oz.
“It’s mind-boggling to me how many references there are to Oz in Lynch’s work,” Philippe tells us. “Even looking at his early shorts, it’s already there.”
Lynch/Oz takes the form of six video essays from a starry cast of contributors, including John Waters, Karyn Kusama and David Lowery. “They’re friends and fellow film geeks. What was essential
was that they had to be game to riff on this idea. It was really about finding people who were willing to go over the rainbow with me.”
It required a degree of faith that the film wouldn’t end up feeling like a series of disconnected chapters. “Each part had to function as a whole and collectively amount to a larger thesis.
What was fascinating was that it felt like somebody would plant a seed for an idea and then the next chapter would expand on it. There’s a dramatic progression that builds up to the big finale.”
While Lynch/Oz touches on some of the weird mythology surrounding Fleming’s film, it is primarily about the creative process. “It’s about influence and inspiration and this idea that when you’re a kid and you watch certain movies they affect you so deeply that when you eventually become a filmmaker, you’re sort of trapped by those themes and motifs. You could make the argument that Lynch is trapped in Oz, but I don’t mean as a prisoner. It’s something quite beautiful.”
‘Even looking at his early shorts, it’s already there’ ALEXANDRE O. PHILIPPE